I'm Here

I'm here, as in back on the blog. And I'm here, as in Florida, for work.

The beginning of the year and the new semester kept me very busy and Austin continues to work crazy hours. But for now, I've got the patio door open so I can listen to the waves crash. I caught up on a little work and I'm going to go for a walk in a bit. Tomorrow and Saturday I'll be doing some focus group work with a publisher and then I'll be home just in time to throw a Super Bowl party with Austin. Stay tuned, I won't be away so long next time.

Impromptu Local Fun

There is a nice farm-to-table style restaurant near our house that often has interesting specials and when a "Texas Burger Night" came up, I had to share it with Austin who was more than willing to give it a try. We wondered why they were closed for over a week during the holidays but found out they were taking a whirlwind tour of the Lone Star State to inform their menu--gotta love a place that takes their food research seriously!

Austin chose the Lockhart burger which included locally sourced prime beef, pepperjack cheese, pickles, onion rings and spicy Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. Naturally he had to pair it with a Shiner. I could tell it was good because instead of talking, he nodded a lot, said "mmm," and licked his fingers.

I opted for the autumn salad with mixed green, julienned green apple, candied pecans, and goat cheese with a side of balsamic dressing. It was very tasty and I'd like to recreate it at home.

After our meal, we stopped by a liquor store for a wine (for me) and beer (for him) tasting and Austin scored a bottle of spiced rum that is distilled locally. Not a bad Wednesday night.

A New Year

The first day of 2014 was gorgeous, with highs near 50 and lots of sun. I snapped this photo while I was out on a walk and enjoying some fresh air. We had a quiet New Year's Eve in, making caramelized leek risotto and crab legs. I enjoyed cooking and eating and didn't take a photo of any of it.

This morning, it was much cooler and it was rainy, then sleeting, then finally snowing. We have beautiful pine trees in the back yard and I did the Robert Frost snow watching thing while sipping tea. I like that we have four seasons here, more so than in TX and not quite as extreme as things were up north. Tea and snowflakes, a good kind of meditation.